Monday, August 12, 2024
Our Great American Driving Adventure Begins: From California through Nevada and Into Utah, we arrive at Avalanche Ranch in Kamas, Utah.
Our Great American Driving Adventure began on a lovely, sunny day in Southern California (as all days are!) when we awoke early (by 6.30 am) to get ourselves ready. By 7.00 am, Chriselle and AJ were knocking on the door of our hotel room at The Glenmark in Glendale, California. They had arrived to give us a ride to LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) from where we would pick up our rental car from the office of Budget Car Rentals. AJ helped us carry our suitcases down into the car (using the bell hop’s trolley) and by the time we were all loaded up, it was about 7.30 am. We arrived at LAX, an hour later, went through the formalities involved in renting a car in the USA and found ourselves handed the keys of a Kia Forte. This is a mid-sized car that was easily able to accommodate our cases in the booth. We also had a bag of snacks and drinks provided by Chriselle and AJ and, not having eaten any breakfast, we set off to conquer the highways.
It was very hard to say goodbye to our newly-weds after our happy times with them. But all good things must come to an end and after warm hugs and promises to call and send pictures etc., we were off and away.
On the Road to Utah:
When I had planned out our itinerary, I had expected us to leave LA by 6.00 am as I knew we had a 14 hour drive ahead of us before we stopped for the night in Utah. However, leaving at 6.00 am, would have involved dragging Chriselle and AJ out of bed (to give us a ride to LAX) at 4.00 am! This was, of course, expecting too much. So, in the end, we were 90 minutes behind schedule as we left LA at 8.30 am. It took Llew at least an hour to get to grips with the new car and its controls as I navigated our way out of Los Angeles. We were hugely fortunate that Chriselle gave us the use of an extra phone which carried unlimited data for use in the USA. This made it super easy for us to use Waves, a driving app, to enter the address in Kamas, Utah, where we’d be spending the night. When I look back on it now, I really wonder how we could possibly have made this trip without her phone. It proved to be indispensable to us. Yes, both of us did have a roaming package on our phones (that we had purchased in Bombay), but we had no idea how limited its data package was. Llew ran out of data on his package really soon—at which point, I began to conserve my data (and, fortunately, had enough-- with 60 minutes to spare--by the time we returned to Bombay).
The first part of our drive that took us out of LA and into the desert surrounding the city was nothing to write home about. Urban settlements followed us everywhere. Once Llew got a hang of the car’s controls and we began to feel hunger pangs (as we were both on an empty stomach), I used the many snacks and drinks in our snack bag to keep us going—there were any number of nuts, cookies, energy (cereal) bars, etc. to nibble on as the miles went by.
Lunch in Las Vegas:
However, by the time we reached Las Vegas, it was almost 2.00 pm and we were well and truly hungry. I began to long for one of those All-You-Can-Eat lunches for which Vegas is famed (as I could well eat a horse, by this point). However, I knew that we could not afford the time as we had started out late and Llew was not too happy about driving an unfamiliar car in the dark. We were determined to get to our destination before nightfall.
Hence, although I googled possible choices for a suitable restaurant, we drew a blank as we were led to a place that was not what we had in mind. Still, it was good to stretch our legs after our long confinement in the car and get out in the city. However, I have to say that it was frightfully hot and not at all comfortable to walk on the streets (after we parked in a public parking lot) to go out in search of lunch. We eventually made our way to ‘The Golden Nugget’ casino which was in Downtown Las Vegas (not on the famous Strip) to eat at ‘Chick Fil-A’ (of all places!). This used to be Llew’s Go-To choice for lunch when we was still working in Manhattan. I was not familiar with the fast food chain or with its offerings, so I was quite happy to try something new. We ended up getting Spicey Chicken Sandwiches that were very good indeed and which we ate while seated back in our car. Meanwhile, we did walk right through ‘The Golden Nugget’ which is a hotel (with a crowded pool) as well as a casino, but time did not permit us to stop and try our luck in Sin City! (PS: We would do so in a casino at Niagara Falls, several weeks later).
Back on the Road to Utah:
The drive through the state of Nevada and into Arizona was much more interesting, landscape-wise, than our morning’s route had been. This time round, we were out in Wild West Country. There were solid rock canyons through which our highway cut. It made for superb photo opportunities from the front seat of our car. We passed through mainly desert scrubland with occasional mesas and mountains that followed us everywhere.
About an hour out of Las Vegas, with the highway ahead of us clear of all human and vehicular traffic, we switched sides and I took the steering wheel. I was rather tentative in my first attempts at driving again (as I was driving after a whole year); plus I was in a strange car. However, the fact that the road ahead of me (and behind) was devoid of traffic did a lot for my self-confidence and distance judgement. Before long, I realized that it really does come back very quickly and my confidence swelled as the miles were eaten up quickly. We stopped occasionally for gas and for a cool drink, but that aside, we kept going as we were driving against the clock.
Soon, the terrain changed as did the weather. To our bad luck, we were engulfed by a thunderstorm that brought rain beating against our windshield. Llew took the wheel again and expertly negotiated his way through the rain. And when the grey clouds had passed, we saw the most stunning double rainbows on the horizon that followed us for several miles, growing more vivid and then more faint, as time passed by. Needless to say, I took many pictures of sun’s rays filtering valiantly through grey storm clouds as we gradually made our way eastwards.
Towards the end of our ride, things got really hairy. We lost light by 8.00 pm but were still nowhere close to our destination. Kamas County, in Utah, is about 45 minutes away from Salt Lake City. It had been my original intention to stop in the city (in which neither one of us had been) to take in its Mormon influence and building monuments. But it soon become evident to both of us that we could not afford to stop in the city or even to pass through it. We’d need to go straight to our destination if we wanted to reach by dinner time.
Sadly, we were caught in another rainstorm not far from Kamas. As we passed through the city of Provo, we stopped at ‘Wendy’s’ to buy chilli and crackers. We ate this really quickly in the parking lot so as to save time. Leaving ‘Wendy’s’, we were on the last leg of our journey, but this was the most challenging. We had to go through hairpin bends in the Wasach Mountains that ring Kamas. The terrain, the pitch darkness and the rain combined to create really difficult driving conditions and poor Llew had to grip the steering wheel so tightly to keep control of the car that his wrists hurt for days on end as he tried to bring us safely to our accommodation for the night. Meanwhile, our friend, Kathy was on the phone with us constantly, to find out where we were and to guide us to our ranch—a sprawling piece of extensive acreage at the foot of the mountains. Somehow, at about 9.00 pm. we were at Avalanche Ranch, where Kathy is based, and to whose gate she drove out to meet us. Yes, we finally said hullo to her in the darkness of the night with only a few lamps to shed some light on our accommodation for the next two nights.
A Most Charming Cottage on Avalanche Ranch:
Kathy helped us move our backpacks—the only things we would need during our road trip as the bulk of the items we did not need would stay in our suitcases in the trunk of our car. She gave us a brief tour of the cottage we would occupy, showed us light switches, shower controls, kitchen supplies, etc. and left for the night with promises to meet us. the next day, for a more extensive tour of her home.
It was absolute love at first sight in our cottage. It had a spacious Great Room that included a Living area, a Dining area and a fully-equipped, modern kitchen with full-size appliances. Apart from picking up the wifi code, however, and doing a bit of unpacking, we were ready to hit the attached bedroom and bathroom for hot showers and some much-needed rest. We were too tired even to take in the delightfully decorated space. That pleasure would have to wait till the morrow. It had taken us 14 hours to get to Avalanche and we were ready to hit the sack. All exploration would be postponed until the morrow.
Until then, cheerio…
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